Frugal Feasts: Exclusively in The Concord Monitor

You can read today's column here, or over at The Concord Monitor. And if you do hop over to their site, they might get the idea that the column is popular, and then maybe they'll give us a raise, and then, well, who knows?

Please note: due to an editing error, a majorly delicious ingredient was removed from Robin's BBQ Bacon Burgers: French's onion rings. Suzanne apologizes for the error.

The corrected recipe is included here.



Photo by Ken Williams for The Concord Monitor



Today is the first day of school for the Concord Public Schools and it feels like Mother's Day. Forget the first Sunday in May--that just means breakfast in bed (and a two hour kitchen clean up). On the first day of school we get peace and quiet.

Finally!

It has been so muggy and it stays light until so late, bedtime for the little darlings has stretched out to a point past reason. Don't these kids know we want to drink in peace? Sure the unstructured summer has its pleasures (no down coats at the dinner table!) and we love the beach, but when you have more children than any two of your friends combined, summer can feel like you've inherited a combination youth hostel/diner/shuttle bus service. One that doesn't turn a profit.

Most summer mornings we just get the kitchen cleaned up from the littles' breakfast when the teens stumble downstairs, starving and pawing through cabinets like the two of us at an estate sale on Auburn Street. By the time their breakfast is cleaned up, it's time to think about lunch. When dinner time rolls around, we've been back and forth to the pool and Beaver Meadow a half dozen times, and have run another dozen musty beach towels through the wash, it's hard to summon the strength to order pizza. Now that everyone is back in school, and out of our hair from 7:30 until 3:15, we might even find the energy to make a whole meal. With meat and potatoes and everything!

But Back to School doesn't just bring us the feeling of jubilation. We are also filled with nostalgia. Not because we want to relive our school years (shiver), but because we hung up the backpacks on the last day of school back in June, unexplored and stuffed to the brim. We were too eager to be done with the daily ritual of removing half eaten sandwiches and school notices to do more than put them aside. And boy do we regret that decision now. It takes a brave woman to stick her hand in a backpack that has been simmering on a hook for two and a half months. And we might be tempted to declare backpack bankruptcy and just toss the them, but we are afraid we'll miss some hidden treasure. Like the time Robin found all the artwork that her daughter had displayed in the citywide art show. Not that anyone thought to mention it at the time. Short stories and math tests and notes from the teacher all come tumbling out, and we are treated to a condensed version of the prior school year.

Of course you have to be prepared for the bad that comes with the good. We are not sure which is worse: finding the lost library books that we had to pay for in June so that we could retrieve the final report cards, or the lunchbox that seems to be breathing on its own. Yes, we are frugal, and no, we are not afraid to get our hands dirty, but we know when to cut our losses: better to chuck the seething lunchbox now before it becomes sentient and attacks.

As we approach another September, with our youngest kids in first (Suzanne) and third (Robin) grades, we'd like to share with our dear readers a few rules for keeping your last good nerve intact for the next 180 days.

Don't buy into the whole Back to School Shopping extravaganza. Just because the retailers would like to sell you stuff doesn't mean you have to buy it. It's too darn hot right now for the kids to wear anything but the shorts and tee's they've been rotting in all summer. The $40 cords that they insist they need RIGHT NOW are a bad investment. By the time the weather cools off enough to wear them, those corduroy pants will either be too short or completely out of style. And since kids cannot help but rip the tags off everything the second it comes out of the bag, you'll be stuck with them.

Keep to the generic for all school supplies. There is nothing wrong with nice yellow pencils and pink erasers and plain colored notebooks and binders. For the same reason that the cords will wind up balled up in the bottom of the closet, the fickle winds of kid popularity will shift and no one will want to be caught dead with a High School Musical III backpack. You'll be back at Target searching for one endorsed by some other wildly inappropriate 'tween role models.


Make a copy of all the paperwork that you send into school. Most home printers also have a copy function these days, and it is worth it to spend the few seconds to use it. Why you ask? Because the children will never hand the paperwork in. They will lose it, or throw it away, and just when you feel like your hand might finally recover from the school paperwork hand cramps, you'll get the frantic phone call: "MOM, I can't go on the field trip because YOU never filled out the paperwork".
Ream of Copy paper? $3.49
Black Toner Cartridge? $14.00
The sense of smug satisfaction that comes from hitting the send key on the fax machine? Priceless.

The occasional nice note in the lunchbox is also a good idea. Nothing too mushy, but a smiley face on a sticky note will take some of the sting out of having to sit next to the kid with the mom who writes a 3 page I Love You Honey letter every single day like it's her job. And while we are thinking of it, it couldn't hurt to make copies of these notes too. They do come in handy during moody adolescence when your teen tries to insinuate that no one ever cared, not for one single second. The eye rolls that the copies elicit are less grating on the nerves than the dramatic sighs.

Maybe we've been watching too much Top Chef, but this week we came up with a challenge: Can the Fru-gals make delicious turkey burgers? Turkey burgers that don't have the texture of compressed cat litter? Turkey burgers so delicious that no one at the table even thinks about a lost opportunity to eat a giant juicy beef burger?

Yes we can.

Suzanne uses Greek seasonings and feta to make a flavorful burger. And Robin? Her turkey burger is draped in bacon. We're not saying which is better, but on Top Chef, the dishes with the bacon always seem to win.

Suzanne's Greek Turkey Burgers with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce
10 servings @ $1.23 each
3 slices whole wheat bread
½ cup whole milk
2 tablespoons olive oil
1medium onion, roughly chopped
1red bell pepper, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped (optional)
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 packages ground turkey, each approximately 20 ounces
8 ounces feta cheese, in small crumbles

10 small pita pockets

Place the bread in a small bowl and cover with the milk. Set aside to soak.
Sauté the onion and the pepper in the olive oil over medium heat until translucent and limp. Add the garlic and continue to sauté for another minute or so, being careful not to burn the garlic.
Remove from heat and set aside.
Remove the bread from the milk and squeeze until mostly dry. Place bread in a large bowl. Add the sautéed vegetables, egg, oregano, basil (if using) and the salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
Add the ground turkey and the feta cheese and mix together well with clean hands.
Shape the turkey mixture into 10 patties.
Heat a gas grill to medium and cook the burgers for approximately 5 minutes a side. Turkey burgers should be cooked through. When they are done they will be very firm, even in the center. If you have a meat thermometer, it should register a minimum of 140 degrees when placed inside the burger.

Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

10 servings @ $.11 each
8 ounces plain yogurt
1 medium cucumber, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons minced onion
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
3 dashes Tabasco sauce, or to taste, optional

Stir together all ingredients in a small bowl. Chill until serving time.
Serve the burgers in the Pita pockets with the cucumber yogurt sauce.

Robin's BBQ Bacon Turkey Burgers

10 servings

1 pound bacon, thick sliced
2 packages ground turkey, each approximately 20 ounces
¾ cup barbecue sauce, plus more for serving
1 1/2 cups French's fried onion rings
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1 pound cheddar cheese, shredded
10 English muffins, split in half
¼ cup softened butter

In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat for 5-7 minutes until crispy.
Chop half, and reserve the rest for garnishing the burgers.
In a large bowl combine the chopped bacon with the turkey, onion rings, barbecue and Worcestershire sauces, onion and cheddar. Shape into 10 patties.
Heat a gas grill to medium and cook the burgers for approximately 5 minutes a side. Turkey burgers should be cooked through. When they are done they will be very firm, even in the center. If you have a meat thermometer, it should register a minimum of 140 degrees when placed inside the burger.

Meanwhile, prepare the muffins:
Spread a small amount of butter on each muffin half. Place on a cookie sheet.
Broil for approximately 2 minutes, keeping a close watch so that they do not burn.

To serve: place a burger on each muffin bottom. Top with some of the reserved bacon, about a teaspoon of barbecue sauce and the broiled muffin top.